Oldest Living Tree Found in Sweden

James Owen in Stockholm, Sweden
April 14, 2008

The world's oldest known living tree, a conifer that first took root at the end of the last Ice Age, has been discovered in Sweden, researchers say.




The visible portion of the 13-foot-tall (4-meter-tall) "Christmas tree" isn't ancient, but its root system has been growing for 9,550 years, according to a team led by Leif Kullman, professor at Umeå University's department of ecology and environmental science in Sweden.

Discovered in 2004, the lone Norway spruce—of the species traditionally used to decorate European homes during Christmas—represents the planet's longest-lived identified plant, Kullman said.

The researchers found the shrubby mountain survivor at an altitude of 2,985 feet (910 meters) in Dalarna Province.

The tree's incredible longevity is largely due to its ability to clone itself, Kullman said.

The spruce's stems or trunks have a lifespan of around 600 years, "but as soon as a stem dies, a new one emerges from the same root stock," Kullman explained. "So the tree has a very long life expectancy."

Radiocarbon Dating

Bristlecone pines in the western United States are generally recognized as the world's oldest continuously standing trees.

The most ancient recorded, from California's White Mountains, is dated to around 5,000 years ago.

Bristlecone pines are aged by counting tree rings, which form annually within their trunks.

But in the case of the Norway spruce, ancient remnants of its roots were radiocarbon dated.

The study team also identified other ancient spruces in Sweden that were between 5,000 and 6,000 years old.


More at: National Geographic

That's the funny thing about plants. It's weird to think about it, but all the cuttings you take that grow into new plants... they're actually the SAME plant. Given I've taken cuttings of things from around the country, it's weird to think the plants growing in pots at my house are the SAME plant growing back in Florida, Hawaii, etc.

There's a patch of trees in Australia that are extremely old and are also self-cloning from what I remember. They took video of it but did not disclose where it was to keep people from inadvertently destroying the eco-system. It was a good piece on Discovery. I tried to find a link, but I can't.

augie wrote:

There's a patch of trees in Australia that are extremely old and are also self-cloning from what I remember. They took video of it but did not disclose where it was to keep people from inadvertently destroying the eco-system. It was a good piece on Discovery. I tried to find a link, but I can't.

Yeah I saw those mentioned at National Geographic

Quote:

Research suggests that stands of Huon pines on the Australian island of Tasmania possibly date back more than 10,000 years

Nope Graham,, this was a small grove of trees perched on the side of a steep cliff. and in a small valley. They are definitely not as majestic as the Huon forest, they are just not found anywhere else.

I just planted two norway spruces in my backyard.
I wont be around long enough to see if the roots last that long. LOL
Mine look far better than that one, these trees grow extremly fast about 2 ft per year. The ones I put in are already 16ft. they are known for their resistance to wind due to the root system and their full coverage and deep green color. A mature tree at about 80-100 years will get 80 ft tall and the base will be about 40ft across. Lucky for me I wont be around to see that either as that would take up my whole back yard! I wanted immediate cover that would do me for about 20 years. I had to take out 2 black pines and I lost a nice blue spruce during a storm not long ago. All of the sudden my nice picturesque private back yard had me looking itno my neighbors yards. I put up two of these and an 18 ft cherry tree.